
The links above will lead you to Hobo Magazine sites on the different aspects of Coventry music -
I've developed a range of blogspots around different aspects of the Coventry Music scene as shown below, from the original all-one original Hobo Vox site some will remember. They are still works in progress of course...Here are the direct links with descriptions (or click in the above menu).
- The Hobo A to Z of Coventry Bands
- Coventry Folk Club Scene of the 1970's (including a history of the folk club scene in Coventry from the early 60's by Pete Willow and posts on some of the current and excellent acoustic players in Coventry now like Kristy Gallacher, Emma McGann, Justine Watson, Rob Halligan, Barricades Rise etc. It includes posts on Rod Felton, Rob Armstrong, Dando Shaft, Dave Bennett, Fureys, Sean Cannon, Pauline Black (in folk club days!), Joe O'Donnell's Shkayla, Gothic Horizon, and more.
- Coventry Arts Umbrella Club - Opened by The Goons in 1955. This Umbrella club illustrated archive features Phillip Larkin, who had a rare article in the Umbrella Magazine (on the site) and in the early 70's some members of Two Tone and their early bands played there and much more.
- Coventry Gigs and Venues - This site archives the many Coventry Telegraph articles by Pete Clemons on Coventry venues, festivals and bands etc. A fascinating read.
- Hobo Magazine and Hobo Workshop (Coventry's Music and Arts Magazine) This site is the archives of Hobo magazine and Workshop (Holyhead Youth Centre) in the early / mid 70's and related music features and other Coventry and Birmingham Magazines that reflected the Cov Scene.
- Coventry Discos / DJ's and Venues / Recording Studios / Shops A site for material relating to these aspects of the Cov Scene. Work in progress.
- Lanchester Polytechnic Gigs 1970's / 80's (Now Coventry University) with youtube of bands that played there,
- Hobo - Coventry Music Archive (The original Vox site). This is the original Hobo site on Vox which was closed in 2009 and which some of you will remember when it was lively and active 2006 - 9. I've archived it on Typepad while I create smaller sites around the different aspects of the Cov scene. It contains over 300 posts and needed some revision and sorted but still being used by many.
- Hobo on Facebook New posts are often linked on this Facebook Page.
OTHER COVENTRY MUSIC LINKS
- Rex Brough - Coventry Music Scene - Another early A to Z of Coventry Bands from Rex Brough, stronger on late 70's and 80's but covers all decades from the 60's to 80's. Again not update recently but still a great and useful site.
About Hobo Magazine / Workshop and Sites

John Bargent (Bo)
2006 / 7 we created a website on Vox to house the Hobo archives and share them with the world. The site reconnected a lot of Coventry musicians, now spread around the world and inspired new musicians in Coventry who were amazed by all the musical history of the city. The was involved in a number of new initiatives with the Broadgate Gnome (another earlier Coventry underground magazine) who created the Gnome Label to promote Coventry music and the Herbert Art Gallery / Museum's Coventry Music Exhibition 2009 initiated by Pete
Chambers and much more. The site grew to contain much more than just the Hobo archives through the many interactions of those who found the site.
More recently Vox closed it's sites but allowed transference of all the material to another of their blog systems - Typepad - where all the material is now housed - all be it without some of the Vox features and without all of the interactions, as people fled to Facebook to connect.
The site is now an archive of itself as well!
However the site contained material from different aspects of Coventry's musical history, from rock to folk to
Trev Teasdel
NEW BOOK - DIRTY STOP OUTS - Coventry music and entertainment venues in 70's
by Dr. Ruth Cherrington.
This new book has drawn on material on these Hobo sites and features Hobo magazine itself as well as numerous memories and contributions from peoplewho attended venues in Coventry or organised them or played in them. A brilliant book, well worth a read.
Dirty Stop Outs - Coventry in the 1970's is available from Waterstones and HMV in Coventry and also via Amazon UK HERE
Ruth Cherrington with the new book at Coventry Music Museum.
Dirty Stop Outs in good company on show at Coventry HMV.
Hobo Co-editor John Bo Bargent with a copy of the new book and an issue of Hobo from 1974.
Trev (on the right) and John Bo Bargent (with hat) of Hobo at the Coventry Music Museum for the launch of the new book.
One of the pages featuring Hobo magazine.